In the following essay, Gindin discusses similarities between the works of Coppard and H. E. Bates. He also details the prominent themes and techniques employed in Coppard's fiction.

O'Connor was an Irish short story writer whose fiction is known for its realistic portrayal of life in Ireland and its detached yet sympathetic humor. O'Connor's critical commentary is distinguished by his insistent probing into the connections between society and individual talent as well as his attempt to analyze the creative process of the writer he is examining. In the essay below, O'Connor examines Coppard's preoccupation with personal freedom and financial security,...

In the following excerpt, Brewster and Burrell illustrate Coppard's versatility in depicting a wide variety of character types and life experiences.

Bates was one of the masters of the twentieth-century English short story, and was also a respected novelist and contributor of book reviews to the Morning Post and the Spectator. His book The Modern Short Story (1941), is considered a useful introduction to the form. In the following excerpt from that title, Bates addresses conflicting elements of simplicity and sophistication in Coppard's writing style. He argues that Coppard's tendency toward the complexity associated with the writing of H...

The following excerpt is taken from a work in which Coppard provides notes to accompany Schwartz's bibliography of the author's writings. Coppard here reacts to selected reviews and criticisms of his short story collections.

Ford was a well-known English fiction writer and editor who published numerous novels in his career, including The Good Soldier (1915). Here, he expresses his admiration for Coppard's work and notes that the author's stories contain the same qualities found in the verse of several seventeenth-century British poets.

Cowley was a respected American writer, editor, and lecturer whose books of literary history and criticism include Exile's Return (1934) and The Lesson of the Masters (1971). Here, he praises Coppard's work for blending realism with fantasy and combining some of the characteristics of romance literature with a distinctly modern sensibility.

Allen is an English novelist of working-class life and a distinguished popular historian and critic of the novel. Below, he discusses "The Higgler, " "Dusky Ruth, " and "The Field of Mustard," as examples of Coppard's best work.

Here, Warren discusses some general misconceptions regarding modern short fiction and describes Coppard as "the one writer of to-day who is exploiting . . . the best possibilities of the short story. "

Peden is an American critic and educator who has written extensively on the American short story and on such American historical figures as Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams. In the following review of The Collected Tales of A. E. Coppard, Peden finds the collection exemplary of Coppard's best work, demonstrating "the variety of Coppard's interests and the flexibility of his technique. "

In this review of Fishmonger's Fiddle, Ould notes the unusual vision of the world that is expressed in Coppard's stones and lauds the subtle craftsmanship of the author's work.

Below, Follett offers a laudatory review of The Collected Tales of A. E. Coppard.

In this review of Silver Circus, Warren praises Coppard's perceptive portrayal of peasant characters. The critic also finds the book to be proof of Coppard's continuing development as a writer.

A Persian-born English novelist, short story writer, and dramatist, Lessing is known as a powerful contemporary writer working primarily in the realist tradition. Her works display a broad range of interests and focus on such specific topics as racism, communism, feminism, and mysticism. In the following excerpt from Lessing's introduction to Selected Stories, she offers a personal reminiscence of Coppard.

In the following review, the critic finds fault with several stories in The Black Dog, yet admires many pieces for their distinctive portrayal of rural characters.

In this review, the critic arques that many of the stories in Nixey's Harlequin are inferior to Coppard's previous work because they digress from the main story line and fail to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

In the following review of the collection Ugly Anna and Other Tales, the critic admires Coppard's rendering of rural England.

In this essay, the critic praises Coppard for providing fresh interpretations of familiar themes.